Is Biometrics the Future of IoT Security?

By Henrik Knudtzon, Chief Financial Officer at IDEX Biometrics

Welcome to the 1st blog post in our series on the Internet of Things (IoT). In this first post, Henrik Knudtzon, Chief Financial Officer at IDEX Biometrics answers whether biometrics is the future of IoT security

As technology developers move into the future at fast speeds, more and more data is created, and the IoT hopes to connect all of our devices into a technological amalgamation of data sharing and network building. Our data capacities will skyrocket, but the big question remains: how will the interconnected nature of IoT affect the safety of information? With all of our devices connected, the risk of losing important information rises. However, biometrics may be the security solution the tech industries are looking for.

Safety in Individuality and Uniqueness

The strongest security aspect of biometrics is its one-of-a-kind fingerprint. Biometric identification technologies use biometric information that is unique to you, the user. There is, as of this writing, no way that a person can replicate any biometric identifiers from another person. This means that biometric identification technology is the safest security technology out there, and it can help keep your valuable information secure from anyone and everyone but yourself.

The biggest obstacle to biometric security is its relative rarity. As it stands, only certain industries and establishments have adopted it, and the safety of the IoT relies on the safety of all its components. This means that every device connected in the grand network of the IoT must be as secure as possible, and with biometric identification poised to become the new standard across the board, every device and every company will need to follow suit and use biometric identification technology as safeguards against fraud and theft. Only when all vulnerabilities are protected will the IoT be completely safe.

Safety Across the Board, On and Offline

While these fingerprint-based solutions work wonders with cards and devices that are used in close proximity to our hands, what happens when a person wishes to make a remote purchase or transfer funds via the internet? Ideally, every device and every transaction will involve some form of identity verification. We do this already with a plethora of numbers and password-based safeguards, and implementing biometric identification technology will allow us to take these safety measures even further.

Instead of typing in a string of numbers or a password that may eventually be picked up or deciphered by clever hackers, with biometric identification, we would simply use our one-of-a-kind fingerprint to verify that we are, indeed, the individual using the device.

As information becomes more prevalent, so does the interconnectedness of ourselves and our devices. The IoT is coming and it is going to stick around; the safety of our information will be more important than ever, and it will be more difficult to guarantee than before thanks to the vulnerable chain of devices inherent in the IoT. With biometric identification technology, however, we may rest assured that our information and our finances remain securely in our possession.